Kids fill buses with (in)action

Students chat, read, sleep and more

Students chat, read, sleep and more

August 22, 2007|By Emily Arthur-Richardt, American News Writer

As children piled onto the school bus at C.C. Lee Elementary School in Aberdeen on Tuesday, the decibel level immediately grew. What was quiet turned quickly to loud as children, decked out in new outfits and carrying shiny new backpacks, boarded. Despite the noise, Mark Evans, the bus driver, just smiled. "This is nothing." he said. "It's a pretty calm day so far." Just then a piercing scream echoed throughout the confined space. "Yeah, that's about right," Evans said, quickly amending his previous thought. "That's how it normally is." Classes at Aberdeen public schools began Tuesday with a half day of school for most students. For Evans, that meant an early day picking up the kids. As he left C.C. Lee with an almost-full bus, he headed to Holgate Middle School. Class will start today at Aberdeen Christian School, Thursday at Aberdeen Roncalli, Aug. 28 at Trinity Lutheran School and Aug. 31 at Northern Plains Christian Academy. "It feels like an adventure every day," Evans said. "In the morning, (the kids) are just not as pumped up. By the afternoon, they're all fired up because they just got out of school. They need someplace to spend that energy. Usually, it's here." Not for 6-year-old D.J. Wagemann. Within minutes on the bus, the first-grader was asleep in his seat, his head lying near the aisle. Wagemann's mother, Brandy, who also drives a school bus for Dietrich's - the busing company Evans works for - had predicted the nap earlier. "He'll be asleep before you get back here," she said. Different feelings: A few seats back, 10-year-old Amber Olson was just the opposite. As Olson waited to be dropped off, she jumped from conversation to conversation as the talk about teachers, friends and homework swirled around her. "I was kind of excited to start school again," said Olson, who is in fifth grade at C.C. Lee. "I couldn't go to bed at night." Fellow fifth-grader Isaac Frederick didn't share the sentiment. "School was OK today," the 10-year-old said as he took a break from reading to chat with his brother Lucas. "I was hoping we'd get more rain so the school would become an island again. Three days of no school when there was supposed to be was kind of nice." Still, Frederick said he didn't mind the summer vacation coming to an end. "It didn't really matter," he said with a sly smile on his face. "We weren't doing anything at home anyway." Evans said his route normally takes about an hour and a half. It gives the kids who ride a chance to catch up with their friends, and it gives him an opportunity to try to get acquainted with the students. Last year, Evans was a permanent substitute, moving from route to route. This year, he has his own. "I don't quite know everyone's name now, but I'm sure I will soon from them getting on every day or from them getting in trouble," he said with a laugh. Navigators: As he continued his route north of town on Tuesday, the Frederick brothers, Isaac and Lucas, helped out, reminding Evans of who needed to be dropped off next and who wasn't riding that day. "These two guys are my road map," Evans said. "Yeah, an artificial one," 9-year-old Lucas Frederick responded. Soon, the Frederick brothers got off at their stop, followed by the final drop-off of the day. All that remained was D.J. Wagemann, who picked that moment to wake up. "Hey, he's up," Evans said. "That doesn't happen too often. D.J., how are you doing?" "What?" the sleepy first-grader responded as he struggled to open his eyes. Seconds later, he was asleep again. Reporter Emily Arthur-Richardt; (605) 622-2314, 1-800-925-4100 ext. 314; earthur@aberdeennews.com